~ We are SMOKIN again!...~

~ My BLOG Page ~ Number Twenty-Three ~
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~ A Second New Page for March ~ Click Here for Previous Page
~ To My Parkville Home Page ~


~ Friday ~ April 02, 2010 ~
~ Ham Day ~ All Day! ~

~ And Lucky Scratcher Day! ~

~ Now That is a Nice Win! ~
Well Now.. a GOOD day... ALL DAY! All missions accomplished... The nice gal fixed my windshield... Took off for my errands and then set about smokin all day... and it was a beautiful day in the 80s... I got a couple scratchers earlier but only won a $2 one.. God bored later and went back to the Chopper to buy $20 worth of various scratchers... Lucky to break even on that but it's fun for me.... and less than I lose at the Casino... But I had pretty fair luck yesterday... I won a $1, $1, $2, $4, $6, and that nice $50 there... Nice profit this time.. then I had to resist the urge to head for the Casino to lose it all... But I had that ham in the smoker to attend to and couldn't go

So, the ham was smoking a couple hours and I looked out to see the smoke had stopped... Ran out of gas... So I hooked up my spare tank, then headed up to Walgreens to trade for a full one.. Sure nice to have that spare handy... Had the ham in the smoker... added two nice sized apple loglets over the next few hours for the smoke and took the ham out at 6 p.m. BJ showed up from work about then and dropped over to check out my smokin and suggest he sure would like a taste of that ham... Well I says ya can't cut it til it sits awhile and I didn't plan to slice it til today...

So, later had a dinner of chili over spaghetti with a green salad and a glass of vino tinto... I wrapped that ham in foil and at bedtime put it in the fridge... Now today.. I will slice and store, maybe sample some for dinner.. and have ham for forever and a day...

Oh yeah... The day before I 'fixed' that chewey corned beef pastrami... It was sliced and frozen... I took it out, stacked it together tightly and put it in my crock pot... Then I poured about a quart of chicken stock over it.. added a tablespoon of pickling spice and let it simmer all day... Then put it in the fridge overnight... Yesterday I took it out, tested a piece... VOILA... NICE! And even tastier with the added spice... Now that is packed nicely in a couple plastic boxes and back in the freezer for some reuben sandwiches as the occasion might arise...

Now.. what today? Need a trip to Gomer's for a jug of wine and the Price Chopper for some fresh veggies and some beans to make Ham and Bean soup when I get in the mood... Prime chore for today is to slice up that whole ham and store most of it... Then save the bone and all the odds and ends for the soup. That won't be today though..

~ And... Again...Away We Go... ~


~ Thursday ~ April 01, 2010 ~
~ Easter Dinner on the Way! ~

~ And for Several Days after That ~

~ Twenty Pounds of Pig Leg! ~
That's 8.6 Kilos for you people that like to play Tens... We Like pounds and feet here... Got this one for $1.48 a pound and it looks like a good one... Frick's Super Trim it says, didn't have to cut any extra fat off of it... Just gave it a quick rinse, got the fire going and into the Smoker a bit before noon... Smoke it what?... 4 to 6 hours or so at a temp of 250F... translated I guess that is 121C... With Celsius that doesn't sound like enough heat for smoking...

And while we are at it.. A gorgeous day today... They say it will hit 83F later .. it is a pleasant 74F at Noon... Translated... that is a 28C High and now that pleasant 23C...

While I was in Kitchen Chat the gal from Safe-lite Glass showed up to fix a rock chip in my windshield... Took her an hour, then I signed out of chat and... I hit the bank for a deposit, then Walgreens for some necessities, then to the Price Chopper for my Ham and some sweet potatoes... Back at the ranch to get that ham in the Smoker and now what?

Well, I need to do some laundry, might get aound to that... otherwise.... need a way to use up some of that great weather out there...

~ And... Away We Go... ~


~ Wednesday ~ March 31, 2010 ~
~ The Last of Saint Pat's Day ~

~ And Pay Day Tomorrow ~

~ The Corned Beef was Sure Good Last Time! ~
I need to write what's happening hour to hour... instead of the next day... Hard to even remember what I had for dinner.. Unless I take a photo... I could have used the last Corned beef and cabbage photo as this one looked pretty much like the last and was every bit as good... But I like my stuff to be real as much as possible... Yesterday I just peeled a potato, a couple carrots and added a cabbage quarter and some chopped onion and simmered that a bit in chicken stock... Then added the last of the corned beef as I turned off the heat, just let the beef heat through real good... And the beef fork tender and delishious... Now on to that Easter Ham

And after Kitchen Chat early, going for a couple Dud scratchers... Doing yesterday's BLOG, chatting later with Can... Who says he is going to give up onine chat now...(again)... that was about it for the day...

~ Now... What for Today? ~


~ Tuesday March 30, 2010 ~
~ Where is Pay Day? ~

~ Oh... That's Tomorrow Isn't It?~

~ Coffee Time with Jim and Lewis ~
Nice Day on Monday, weatherwise and otherwise... Finished up my San Diego page and morning Kitchen Chat and headed to the Chopper for a Bingo And Crossword... Won a Crossword for $3... Decided to go back and trade for another and in line at the Service Counter was Jim Reed, Director Emeritus of the Nature Sanctuary... A bit of greeting and chit chat... and "How about Coffee... I'm Buying"... Jim Says... Well sure... And since I am close... "I'll drop back and get your new DVD I says..." And Jim said he had to drop by City hall for a minute, then Call Lewis and meet me at the Carabou...

So I went back for the DVDs and my camera and headed over... Jim walked in just after I got there... We got coffee and had a chat til Lewis Jonus showed up.. The Assistant to the Director... So then a LOT of chat and a pleasant time til NOON! and Jim had to excuse himself for lunch... Really nice people at the Sanctuary...

And then back to the ranch to work a couple dud Scratches and finish out the day.. Another lengthy ~discussion ~ with Can the Man... SOMEDAY.. we might agree on something but not yet... Then later more warm-ups from the freezer, still trying to absorb some of the surplus and make more room...

So then what? Received a $20 rebate card from AT&T for upping my internet speed... and a card from AT&T saying I was potentially a member of a Class Action Suit against them for overcharging and under performing on DSL... Not a lot of money involved but worth while downloading a claim form and completing that... Could be a couple hundred... maybe a couple more trips to the Casino...

Next... having another ~discussion with Can on IM... and I get a phone call from a credit card company... Did you charge $5,000 to this place online... she says... Hardly I says... That card had a $500 limit.. and no... wasn't ME!... Well, they refused the charge anyway and gave me a new card number... Sending a new card... Then I got online... they had changed the info already and I entered a new ID and Password... All fixed... I don't use that card online anyway... Just make the payment... So that is that... here at 1 p.m. and now see what to do the rest of the day... Planning to buy a BIG HAM and some sliced pork shoulder and do some Smoking!.. Yeah!

OH yeah.. by the by... was reading a review in PC World magazine and there was a Good review of my New Computer... just the specs I want... a HP HPE-170t... as that pic up there in the corner... NOW... all I have to do is dig up $1.500 and away we go on that!

~ Now for the Rest of Tuesday... ~


~ Monday ~ March 29, 2010 ~
~ The San Diego Page ~

~ DARN.. I DID IT AGAIN! ~

Well when writing Tuesday's page... I forgot to start NEW and wrote that page OVER the Monday BLOG and lost it... And when I 'save' the new page it covers the old of course... And if I upload that before I catch it, that BLOG is lost... So to repeat what I can of Monday.. I will just copy some of the new San Diego web page here...

~ San Diego for a Weekend ~ ~ What I Managed to See and Photo ~
Well... in 1952 I was assigned to Luke AF Base in Glendale, Arizona, near Phoenix... And a High School buddy, Frank was in the Navy in San Diego... So one weekend I drove out for a quick visit... And I just got a few photos and what I have.. are now on the new Web Page... See below...

And I hope to NOT overwrite Tuesdays' BLOG with Wednesday.. if there IS a Wednesday BLOG>>>.

~To the San Diego Page~
~ All Out of Projects for Now ~


~ Sunday ~ March 28, 2010 ~
~ Third Arizona Page ~ Uploaded to the Net ~

~ 92 Photos Scanned So Far! ~

~ Now What is the Next Project? ~
Well that's done.. I thought it would take a lot longer... But I scanned the rest of that Album yesterday... Edited the photos.. Added them to the page and then finished the comments this morning... The narrative was easy... I just copied the captions I had in the album... I had some kind of tour book of Arizona then to give me ideas where to go... and what to see and I borrowed comment from that book... I sure couldn't remember that stuff from 58 years ago!

So, lots of memories of good times and good trips... I do have some photos in that album I took on a weekend trip to visit a friend in the Navy living in San Diego... Might just scan them off, see if they might be worth another page... Anyway something to do...

~To the Third Arizona Page~
~ Maybe I ~Will~ Do San Diego Page ~


~ Saturday ~ March 27, 2010 ~
~ Second Arizona Page ~ Uploaded to the Net ~

~ and STILL More Photos to Scan ~

~ Will Take at Least One More Page ~
And still at it... Been working on the Second page since 5 a.m. today.. and adding some more pics to the First page that I missed that should go there... So those TWO pages are uploaded now and I'll start on the third page when I get in the mood for that...

And what yesterday? Not much... Worked two more scratcher duds.. where did my luck go? Had another long chat with Can in IM... Trying to clear out my freezer some and dug out a decent meal from there... Making some headway now and might have room for a nice big ham on Easter... Shall we see?

Anyway running late today... have to get at it and start today's Day this AFTERNOON... It's already 1 p.m. and all's well in Parkville...

~To the Second Arizona Page~
~ Now to Work on the THIRD Arizona Page! ~


~ Friday ~ March 26, 2010 ~
~ First Arizona Page ~ On the Net ~

~ More Photos to Scan ~

~ Have 37 on the First Page ~
So, a busy day all day... I worked on my pictures and new page... then some chat with Can. and then deided to go to the Casino again... Won the last two times... didn't have confidence that I could do it again,.. but something to get out of the house anyway... Got a couple twenties out of the ATM and headed South

Picked out my usual quarter machine and stuck in the two twenties.. Right away I was $10 ahead.. Nah.. I came to play... So then some more ups and downs and I got $20 ahead... That is my rule to cash out if I win at least $20.. But NO.. On we go... I was having a good time.. sorta... So way back down again and then a couple good rolls and back to $25 ahead.. HAH?? Go home... nope.. Greed took over, kept going... and as usual.. back to zero and OUT... I could have walked out with $65... but no, all gone.. Will I ever learn?

Back to the pictures... Did some more work on the new page.. then nuked up a rib and BBQ beans and a baked tater.. and off to beddy bye... Back to the computer this morning to work on my page and then chat some, then back and forth, finally finishing up the page... Have 37 pics on the first page.. this is going to take several pages to finish up this subject without making the pages too long...

So now.. the page is uploaded... Brought back some good memories working with these old pics... The pages mainly for me and memories but if anyone wants to check it out... Click away below... And away we go...

~To the First Arizona Page~
~ Now to Work on the NEXT Arizona Page! ~


~ Thursday ~ March 25, 2010 ~
~ Arizona Page ~ Hard at It ~

~ Lots of Photos to Scan ~

~ Have about 20 Done so Far ~
Well this is kind of interesting but kind of involved... I scan the pics to my Pictures file, then import them into Photoworks to size and trim... Then into Picasa to add the sepia tint.. then I can add them to my new Arizona page... And I see the album doesn't have them in a timely order, so now before continuing, I will pick out what I think are the most interesting and sort them in order before I name them and add them... Make a more orderly page... A lot less moving around later...

So what yesterday? Not much going on, still no cooking experiments.. Just won a couple small Scratches.. $5 on one $3 on another.. Later I'll go check the snail mail and go trade them in for a couple more.. Need a big win so I can go to the Casino and lose some more..

That was about it except a long chat with Can the Man.. and then a dinner of some hotted up Scrumptious Beef and Noodles I found in the freezer... Now... Kitchen Chat done.. head for the shower and get this day started...

~ Ever Onward and Upward! ~


~ Wednesday ~ March 24, 2010 ~
~ Arizona Here We Come... Again... ~

~ Going Back In Memories Maybe? ~

~ On Top of Camelback Mountain ~ Phoenix, Arizona ~
Well, nothing much to BLOG about yesterday... No cooking... No Projects... Just won two $10 Scratchers, not enough to write home about... Then a smoked rib and baked tater and that was about it for the day...

So what today... Got the mail and a couple more scratchers.. Won $8, still not enough to brag about.. Would go to the Casino but I spent too much already and as I won the last two times will probably lose next time...

So, new project?... I was thinking of all those photos I took while stationed in Arizona. Drove all over the state on weekends taking pictures with that big old Press Camera... This one after lugging that Speed Graphic to the tip top of Camelback mountain, you can see this mountain from all over the City... Camelback on the North side and South Mountain on the South side of Phoenix... Been to the tip top of both.. Though you can drive to the top of South Mountain which they call a park...

So, I dragged out that fat album full of 8 X 10 inch Black and White prints... Scanned off this one, looks like 200 in there to go... Something to do a few at a time and if I don't get burned out on the project.. Then assembling some into another Wep Page.. Like I need another one...

~ Anyway Off to the Races... ~


~ Monday ~ March 22, 2010 ~
~ Snow is Going Going... ~

~ Be Gone later Today... Bet Ya.. ~

~ This Pic was Sunday Morning ~
And yes... a lot of melting on Sunday, nice sun and warmed up some... Today the rest will go away.. and will that be the last for this winter? I have enough snow pictures to suit me... So what the rest of Sunday? Won $1 on Saturday's Lotto, good for a free ticket... Got a Bingo and Crossword and won $3 on the Crossword... Used the last of the milk for breakfast so I had to make a re-run back to the Price Chopper... Got me a gallon of cow juice and traded my Crossword for a Bingo at the Service Counter and got another Crossword out of the Machine..

Back at the ranch... This time a dud Crossword but A $9 Bingo winner... Take that back to trade today... Then not much going on but melting snow... Got this pic of the 10 inches piled up on the smoker... that's most all gone now... Then a nice long chat with Can the Man.. who is now Samm... Maybe I am not supposed to reveal that...

Anyway, after chat about 4 p.m. I headed to la cocina to see what's for dinner... Decided on some more corned beef and cabbage... and it was pretty darn good again... And then... that was about it for a slow Sunday...

~ Now What is in Store for Monday? ~


~ Sunday ~ March 22, 2010 ~
~ More Tech Talk ~

~ Well I Love My Tech Toys ~

~ Win TV7 Player ~ Win TV7 Player Full Screen ~
Well now, a long snowy Saturday used up... And we got some more snow overnight, maybe another two inches or more.. Who is measuring? Will all be gone by Tuesday I hope...

So back to the Tech Toys... Everything now works on Windows 7 except Live TV on Media Center... Worked fine on Vista but I just can't get it to to synch up with my Hauppage TV Tuner in the computer.. I didn't use it much anyway except to capture a video I record on my U-Verse living room DVR to use on a web page or DVD... But nice to have it when I do want it... So I got online and ordered the CD that installs the Hauppage TV Player on the computer... Bypassing Media Center.. And it works and actually easier to use than the Media Center Player setup...

Now I can watch live TV on the computer with the Hauppage Player.. Or Internet TV with Media Center... both of which I rarely do... What I want is when I see something on the Living room TV I want to use... I can hit the red buttom on my U-Verse remote and record it on the U-Verse DVR... Then I can play back the recording on the U-Verse receiver hooked to the Computer with the Hauppage player and record it again from that to the computer.. and then I can use it in a BLOG, Web Page or make a DVD... Such FUN! The Hauppage Player does record in .ts format.. But all I have to do is change the extension to .mpg and I can use it for anything... VOILA!.. all problems today.. are SOLVED!

~ Off to Check Yesterday's Mail and Cash my Lotto Win ~


~ Saturday ~ March 20, 2010 ~ Addendum ~
~ SNOW IN MARCH? ~

~ Felt like Spring Yesterday! ~

~ No Gardening Today ~ No Planting til May? ~
Well, that was a short spring... Winter on the way again? Merry Christmas... in March... Well the Weatherman was right on this time, we got his 4 inches and more... But not supposed to last long, it isn't too cold and a warm-up due on Monday if he is right again... And we were warned but it was still a surprise to look out there this morning to see 5 inches on top of the Blazer... I thought we were done with the snow for this winter... But ya never know what happens in March...

But I bought today's Bingo and Crossword yesterday and although I don't need anything from the store today, the roads are mostly clear already and it is just now noon...

So... what today? I haven't a clue... Nice chat this morning in the Kitchen with Chefraw first, then Jake came in and a new guy from New York and then I got an IM from Can the Man... Took a break for clean-up and breakfast and then out back to check the snow in the tomato bed and get a hammy pic for the BLOG...

So maybe this is a good day to get some smoked BBQ ribs out of the freezer and nuke up some BBQ beans... and think of a warm spring day... some day...

~ We Shall Overcome!~ Ever Onward and Upward ~


~ Saturday ~ March 20, 2010 ~
~ Tomatoes on the Way? ~

~ Can't Plant for Another Month Though ~

~ And Away We Go! ~ A Good Day Friday ~
Nice sunny hazy warm day... Headed up to the Price Chopper for my Bingo and Crossword... Won a $3 Crossword and lost on the Bingo... Oh well... Back to the ranch to putter around on the computer and get bored... So.. even though with the added largess from dumping the high car payment... and spending more of it this month than expected... As usual this time of month I was running low again.. But whst the heck... I did win that $44.75 at the Casino earlier... Why not go back and give it back to them? Grabbed me Two Twenties outta the ATM and headed down river... Just about Noon-30...

So I picked my favorite quarter slot and in with the Twenties for 160 credits... Starte off nicely and won a few moderate goodies... Ran up the credits to a bit over a $10 win... Well that won't do it... I want to win at least a $20 to make it worthwhile... So I kept on and got a couple nice rolls and then 2 Three-Bars with a 5 Times!... 30 X 5 = 150 credits... Not bad and on top of a couple nice spins before that I had a total of 329 credits... Nice...

Time to quit.. but No, let's run out those 29 credits ($6.75)to see if I could get lucky again... Nope... So I cashed out with 300 credits.. a nice round $75... a $35 win, that's worth 20 minutes work anyway... Let's get outta there... So I dropped by the Riverside RED-X to check the price of my Vino Tinto.. HAH... $2 less than the Price Chopper so I latched onto a gallon... Then I stuck a Ten in the lotto machine and got a Bingo, Crossword, Wheel of Fortune and a $1 scratcher... So...Back at the Ranch, scratched a $4 win off the $1 scratch, nada from the Crossword and Wheel.. But a $6 win on the Bingo.. Broke even anyway...

Then, weather even nicer, out to the tomato bed to dig up some dirt, prep that soil some for next month... Then resting up, thinking about dinner... How about some meatloaf and mashed taters? But no gravy... Back to the Chopper for a tomato, some nice plump green top red radishes and a nice cucumber... And a couple cans of mushroom gravy... Yeah... And on the way back, checked the mail and there was my Install CD from Hauppage...

So putting the stuff away and starting on that install.. After some trials and errors I got it working... And the program seems to do all I wanted to to with Media Center with live TV and also recorded TV from my U-Verse DVR... Then I played around with the Media Center some more... I finally got the Channel 3 signal from the Hauppage tuner from U-Verse TV but it said I did not have the IR cables from the set-top box to make it work.. Still no go... It worked with Media Center with Vista and no IR cables are needed anyway.. I just still might find how to get it going, though not needed now...

So then... a nice dinner, some TV and off to beddy bye... BUT... Mike Thompson, the Weatherman on Fox-4 said we would wake up to SNOW! Nah.. yer kidding... So, he was right, looks like at least 4 inches out there and more still coming... Hold off that spring planting a few more days... And I'll get out there later today for a pic of that... Stay tuned...
~ Ever Onward... and Upward! ~


~ Friday ~ March 19, 2010 ~
~ Smoking Ribs in August ~

~ Make Reservations Early ~

~ More Like These in May of 08? ~
Well now, my smoking expertise is reaching Nation Wide!... They have been sampled by a resident of Washington D.C. (Can the Man) and residents of Saint Joseph, Kansas City and Parkville, Missouri and who else? And now I have received a request from a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada who even offered to furnish the supplies!

How about this: "When I come over this summer why don't we make a trip to Price Chopper and pick up some Ribs with some potato salad and maybe a few other things and I will pick up the tab. I want to see this place you shop at all the time. I saw the photos you took inside and it sure looks like it has everything."

Anyone else in the Neighborhod want to drop buy for a summer Pig-out?
~ Now What to do on this Long Weekend Ahead? ~


~ Thursday ~ March 18, 2010 ~
~ Catching up With Program Changes ~

~ Aways Something New ~

~ Starting with Windows 7 Install ~
Well That was my Old Compaq I had in 1998... It had Windows 95 I think... Upgraded to Windows ME...anyone remember that? I gave that one away to BJ (neighbor) when I bought a new Compaq with Windows XP in 2003... I am still using those external speakers though, they are good ones... And then I just now gave away that 2003 Compaq to Nathan (Friend) when his computer quit on him...

After that I bought another HP A couple years later with XP... Then again another HP with Vista just to see what it was like... And I liked it OK for some things, a couple other glitches I didn't care for... Really had no big problems with Vista... Then I had to do some upgrading on that one to edit and burn Blu-ray DVDs after I bought my new HD Video camera..

So. NOW... I just had to have Windows 7 from all I read about it... And my Windows Media Player had quit on Vista and I couldn't get it to work... So... I ordered the COMPLETE install of Windows 7 from Amazon with no tax or shipping and $20 off... Then the Install which went fine... The Complete install wipes out your hard drive so you have to back up your data and then reinstall all your programs back on the new OS...

So, I got most all my programs back and most worked... But my HTML editor would not take my registration code and said I could only use it 50 times... But it still works on the other HP... But I am trying a new better editor now anyway..

And then... I changed my Web Host and all the trouble of reloading all those 3,900 files to the new Donains... Wow!...

~ So Far... Here's the Score ~
1. Windows 7 - Operating System

2. HTML-KIT Tools - HTML Editor

3. New Web Site Domains at 1 and 1 Web Hosting

4. FlashFXP - FTP Uploader

5. Audacity Sound editor

And then I checked out Live TV on Media Center... and I can't get it to work from my U-Verse receiver and Hauppage tuner... Worked fine on Vista... So now I am waiting for a CD from Hauppage to see if I can get that going... Aways something... HUH?
~ But Still Waiting ~ where is that New Program CD? ~


~ September 30 to October 23, 2008 ~ Page Number One ~ ~ October 23 to October 31, 2008 ~ Page Number Two ~ ~ November 04 to December 19, 2008 ~ Page Number Three ~ ~ December 24 to March 23, 2009 ~ Page Number Four ~ ~ April 01 to May 26, 2009 ~ Page Number Five ~ ~ May 30, 2009 ~ Page Number Six - Click Here ~ ~ May 31 to July 02, 2009 ~ Page Number Seven ~ ~ July 02 to July 18, 2009 ~ Page Number Eight ~ ~ July 20 to August 16, 2009 ~ Page Number Nine ~ ~ August 16 to August 26, 2009 ~ Page Number Ten ~ ~ August 27 to September 11, 2009 ~ Page Number Eleven ~ ~ September 12 to September 30, 2009 ~ Page Number Twelve ~ ~ October 02 to October 28, 2009 ~ Page Number Thirteen ~ ~ October 29 to November 09, 2009 ~ Page Number Fourteen ~ ~ November 09 to November 24, 2009 ~ Page Number Fifteen ~ ~ November 24 to December 10, 2009 ~ Page Number Sixteen ~ ~ December 10 to December 25, 2009 ~ Page Number Seventeen ~ ~ January 01 to February 01, 2010 ~ Page Number Nineteen ~ ~ February 02 to February 16, 2010 ~ Page Number Twenty ~ ~ February 17 to March 02, 2010 ~ Page Number Twenty-One ~ ~ March 03 to March 17, 2010 ~ Page Number Twenty-Two ~ ~Email Me!~